He's not important
by alan713ch
Summary: Why would he never talk about it? Why would he disengage himself from her? Why wouldn't he try to love her again? Was it that bad, when she died? OneShot, explaining Piper's dead in original Chris future. Sorry for bad english, not my language.


Chris woke up, his heart filled with emotion and his head already thinking of the surprise party his mom had been planning for weeks. Although she was the best with surprises, his Aunt Phoebe had spoiled it quite a long time ago. _Never good with secrets_, he thought.

But, even though it was his 14th birthday, he still had to go to school. So he went up to the drawers, got dressed in what his mother called a "Crazed teenager" outfit, and went outside his room. He passed by his brother's room, a slight frown forming on his crease, stopping to listen carefully. His brother, once his best friend and closest companion, was now a distant relative. Even though they still hanged out, went playing soccer and even took him to his gymnastics class (in the car his father gave him, while forgetting about Chris' past 13 birthdays) he was no longer the cool good guy he was. Now he was somewhat dark, something that worried Chris the most, especially because he was the only one who seemed to notice. Everybody else seemed not to notice, or to be fooled by something. But then again, it was _his_ birthday, so he pushed the thought to the back of his mind, as he continued his way downstairs.

There he found the joy of his life so far: his mother. Piper Halliwell already had cooked what looked like a thousand pancakes and was in the middle of a pile of omelettes. However, she froze the cooking to make room for his son to enter and welcome him with a big hug, an embarrassing kiss and a beautiful smile.

"Happy birthday Chris! How are you?"

"I'm fine, mom… thanks a lot" He looked at her. He admired her, but he wasn't so sure she knew. He wouldn't tell, obviously.

"Ready for this afternoon? I know your Aunt Phoebe spoiled everything, so there's no reason to keep pretending" Both Chris and his mom smiled, even laughed a little

"Yes mom. Hey, did you tell…?"

"Everybody at your school, gymnasium and clubs. Damn, I even think Wyatt told some of his "cool" friends to come!" ¨Since language was difficult to keep under control with all the demon attacks they faced, it was quite a long time since she had given up the idea of her sons not listening to bad words. Hear them say them, quite a different thought.

"OK. Is this supposed to be all for me, or are we going to the homeless shelter again?"

"Don't mock me little man. Wyatt! You're gonna be late for school!"

As she kept cooking and his son served himself a plate with a juice jug and fruit, neon blue and white lights solidified in the form of his sixteen year old brother. Blond, athletic and sleepy, he turned to ruffle his little brother's hair while picking a pancake.

"Hey kiddo… happy birthday!"

"I'm not a kid anymore!"

Wyatt focused his sight, his expression suddenly serious

"No, you're not. You're old now. Old enough to hang with the cool crowd" He change his expression for a thousand-watt smile. The face of the kid enlightened.

"Really?"

"Really. Hey, mom, are we going to the homeless shelter again?" Piper just glared at him so hardly he wished he hadn't said anything. He stuffed his mouth with the pancake in response.

"Wyatt, take your brother to school today. NO ORBING, use the car for god's sake" she added before any of both could even think about it. Wyatt just shrugged while orbing his back pack to his shoulders. Chris knew better: not even a second he got out of the kitchen for his own back pack he could hear his mother scolding Wyatt about it. He grabbed his own school material and went downstairs: his mother waited him by the door, his brother already inside the convertible on the street. He kissed his mother on the cheek, grabbed the paper bag with his lunch, and went outside.

"Geez, it took you forever to come downstairs. C'mon, _I'm_ gonna be late" Wyatt said rolling his eyes. Chris just rolled his own.

The trip to the school was uneventful. Although they were quite wealthy due to the success of his mother's restaurant (and the consequential rise in success of her club) Piper still sent them to public schools, like she had been. Wyatt had started taking Honors and Advanced Placement courses; Chris became the oddball who knew a lot about everything, thanks to the fact that his mom made him watch a lot of educational T.V., read Wikipedia a lot and the fact his brother used him as study buddy. Because of his once-a-week trips to heaven, Wyatt usually had to spend Sunday afternoon catching up with homework and examinations.

These trips were among the things Chris envied from Wyatt. His father would come down from Heavens and take him to train in the use of the mythical Excalibur. When little, both Wyatt and Piper tried to convince the man to take both of them, so they would have quality time together; the denial came in the form of a long speech, about the mysticism of the training, the powers that were summoned, and all that stuff. However, Wyatt came home telling Chris about how after that, he and Leo went to the movies, or the park, or somewhere else. Chris would fake a big smile, pretend to be happy and later go to his room, at the first to cry, later just to feel the rejection and let it sink in the bottom of his heart. But Wyatt would try to go less and less, in order to spend more time with him. That made him vindictively happier.

"Chris, you home?" Wyatt's home brought him back to reality

"Yeah… just thinking about dad… you think he'll come?" He saw Wyatt's expression grim a little

"I won't lie to you… he probably won't… but, hey, enough about sad things! Gift time!"

"What? No! Wait for the party or something…"

"Nah… I don't think mom would approve. Now, shush and stay still.

_Spirits from this realm, from above and below alike_

_Hear my command; I call you by my side_

_Grant this boy a wish, whatever it is_

_Free of consequences make it, I order it to be like this"_

Chris felt weird, like he always did when magic worked through his body. He eyed his brother suspiciously.

"What was that?"

"C'mon, you're supposed to have a genius IQ, I'm sure you can work it out"

"You gave me a wish?"

"Yes"

"Free of consequences?"

"Yes"

"That's impossible!"

"No, it isn't. Difficult as hell, yeah, but _not_ impossible. I actually made the ritual a couple of days ago, up in the attic, and I _did_ have to use Excalibur in order to yield all the magic necessary but, I managed to accomplish it. As the wish is a gift, I'm not breaking any rule of personal gaining, and as long as you wish for something within the realms of possibility in this dimension, you are safe as well"

"But… Wyatt…"

"C'mon! It's a free wish! No strings attached! It's the perfect gift ever! Don't tell me you don't want it, it ain't any devolution policy" Chris kept thinking about the problems that kind of spell could bring to him. But his teenage nature (or maybe a couple of rising hormones) took control and he blew the thought away.

"OK. See ya after class. Don't be late to pick me up! I don't want to orb _into_ mom again!"

"Yeah, yeah, have a nice day ki… Chris"

Chris got outside and went to his school, meeting a couple of friends on the way. Wyatt eyed him, his expression changing to a dark, thoughtful one, as if worried about Chris. Behind him, his best friend shimmered in the partner's seat.

"Dude! You were supposed to pick me up! Wait… why aren't we moving? Was the car not moving?"

"Shut up, nobody saw you. And is Chris' birthday, I brought him to school"

"Is the kid's birthday? Fuck! I gotta get him a present…"

"Never mind that, let's go"

"Dude, we're gonna be late"

"Of course not, _manticore_" His friend leered at him, while he turned the vehicle on and moved away. The second –the split second- nobody looked at them, the car orbed away.

Chris was outside, talking to his best friend Andy. They met at school, but their friendship begun when he helped his mom rescue Andy and his family from a demon attack. Apparently the philanthropic activities his family did were big enough to angry bad people. Oh, yeah, they were _rich_.

"And I mean, did you see last night's episode? I thought they couldn't get any more _unreal_ with all those demons and stuff, but they just keep bringing such stupid ideas…"

"I know, I mean, _the ultimate power_ a blond bimbo? I mean, I know your brother's blond and all that, but, he's smart"

"Yeah! She was so unbelievable!"

"I know… ehm, Chris, your cellphone's ringing"

"I don't have a cellphone"

"OK, then, your _back pack_'s ringing"

"Huh?"

Sure enough, a loud ringing noise was coming from one of his pockets. Rummaging a little bit he found a brand new cell phone, newest model on the market. Even Andy gaped at the cell phone, murmuring something about his dad not being able to get it on time. Chris took it and on the screen, the caller ID said "Wyatt".

"Wy?"

"Yeah, Chris? What do you think? Another present"

"Wy… you did not use magic, did you?"

"Never mind that. Hey, I can't come pick you up, got stuck with some businesses…"

"Do those businesses go by the name Jessica?"

"Haha. Orb home, would ya?"

"And let mom kill me on _my_ birthday? No way" He paused and looked to his friend "Your mom can give me a ride?"

"Sure! We are going to your house anyway, mom said something about…"

"The surprise party? I know about it" To the phone "Wy, I got ride. Better be on time for the party"

"Yeah, yeah. See you. Thank Andy for me"

"Sure. Bye" He hung up the phone, gaping at it for a while. In that moment, a beautiful car driven by a beautiful lady stopped close to them. Andy recognized her immediately

"Mom! We're taking Chris" The lady looked at both children with a smile

"But, I thought Wyatt was supposed to take you today"

"Good afternoon Ms. Coulter. He's got a girlfriend. Besides, I already know about the surprise party, so no point keeping me away from the house."

"Hm… what about this? I take you guys to the movies, and we'll go to your house later. Let me call your mom" A minute later (and the insistence of Ms. Coulter of sending a couple of people to help Piper) they were on the way to the movies. Chris thought that his birthday could not get any better, except for his father showing up. So carefully he started to formulate his wish, because it would be about him.

A couple of hours later they were at his house, finally in the party. His Aunt Paige still tried to yell "Surprise!" when they arrived, and when she noticed nobody else did, she went immediately to Piper.

"Wasn't this supposed to be a surprise party?" She asked from the corner of her mouth

"We're killing Phoebe later" She got by an answer. The victim was there, as well, watching her two children (Allison and Markus, both children of her marriage with Jason Teague, who was in China at the moment) who were playing with their cousins (Sonya and Marie, daughters of Paige and Henry). Chris was playing outside in the garden with his gymnastics team, doing stunts that would amaze them but had Piper watching him closely about magic. The party went without any kind of incident, neither human nor demonic (Phoebe and Paige had placed a couple of protection crystals around the house, hiding them among the decoration) and Chris could say he was happy, even when Wyatt took him aside and told him not to use his wish when he blew the candles ("Non-magic folks around here, we don't want to get exposed"). He wanted to say his wish when he blew 

the candles so his father would be there for at least a couple of hours, but he understood. So when people finally started to leave, he hadn't seen his father. Yet.

"Sweetie, you sure you don't want help? We can stay" It was more than ten years that both Phoebe and Paige had left the house, pursuing their own families. Piper smiled at the two of them.

"No, I'm fine. You go, you have to catch a phone call from Jason, and you have to make sure your husband goes out well to his nightshift. Go, we'll be fine." Both sisters gave hugs and kisses, and made their way to the door, calling their children. They were the last to leave; even Wyatt had left earlier to drive Jessica home. At home, only Chris and Piper were left, picking up the dishes. She looked at his son, who seemed happy. He looked back at her.

"Mom?"

"Yes sweetie?"

"Why didn't dad come?" He hoped to hear a different excuse.

"He… he just said he couldn't. I'm sorry."

"No mom, not today. Wyatt gave me a wish"

"He did what?" She opened her eyes, both in terror and anger. "You hadn't used it, have you?"

"No mom. I remember the tales you told us, about the genies tricking you and all that stuff. I knew I had to be careful… But mom, he said it had no strings attached. That it was safe. Can it…?"

"No. A wish is a wish, and always carries consequences. I haven't encountered a wish free of them, and I have faced quite a lot of stuff. I suggest you to not say the phrase "I wish" till we find out more about it… Why would Wyatt do something like that? And on your birthday?"

"Perhaps he wanted me happy"

"If he wanted you happy he could have convinced your father to come even for fifteen minutes. You know your father _adores_ him" She said mockingly, trying to cheer up her son. Sadly, the effect was the opposite. "Chris?"

"I'm tired of that! He wouldn't come if Wyatt asked him, you know that!"

"Chris…"

"He won't come when I ask him, he won't come when _you_ ask him, he won't come, whoever asks him! Sometimes I wish something bad happen, so he would have to come and _see me_."

"Chris! Something bad..?" She forgot about Wyatt's spell, worried about her son. He forgot abouth his brother's present, angry with his father.

That was their mistake.

"Yeah, something bad! Like you dead or something!"

Piper opened her mouth to sooth him, to give an answer, to tell him everything was fine. Instead, she bent on her stomach, pain forming in it and rushing through her veins. Chris looked at her, realizing what he had done.

"Mom? Mom… mom, mom, mom, mom, Mom!" He rushed by her side, she had started coughing blood. She fell on her knees, Chris starting to cry silently, mouthing excuses, spells, trying to think. Names popped into his head and formed within his mouth. "Wyatt! Aunt Paige! Dad!" He screamed all those names again and again, as he watched his mother die the most painful way it could have happened. Fever was rushing through her veins, blood coming out of her mouth as she tried to regain her voice.

"Chris… Look at me…"

"Mom… this… this is my fault, mommy, I'm sorry, mom, please don't die, no, no, no, please, I take it back! I take it back!"

"Chris… I don't blame you… you had every right to wish for him… but there are always consequences… your brother knew that… Chris… there is something wrong with him, he's not the same…" Chris thought for a second of his suspicions, realizing he was not imagining things "…but he's still your brother… promise me you'll take care of him… promise me you will be with him…"

"Mom…!" It was taking her forever to die, all too painful to watch, he raised his hand to get the phone telekinetically, dialing numbers, but there was no sign, no call could be made, yelling for all the white lighters he knew, panicked at the idea of being alone with his dying mother, who would look at him with all the love she could muster, blood coming out of her eyes, clouding her vision, stroking his son's hair with a trembling hand, trying to sooth him, no longer seeing him, but seeing her mother, her grandmother, her sister, oblivious to him. She understood.

"Chris… I love you. Never forget that." Her voice was a hoarse whisper, her face a pained expression, her mouth a thin, loving smile. The kid –no, the man- realized his mother was dead.

He fell back.

He wouldn't move.

He couldn't move.

He looked at her, shocked.

He remembered he made a wish. He whispered.

"Dad"

And he was there. The blue lights, with that small golden tint that announced the entrance of an Elder, formed in the shape of Leo Wyatt, between his son and his former wife, his back to her. His expression was of anger at being called by that nuisance of a son.

"What?" His tone was cold, angry, full of hatred even. He looked at Chris, his time –his precious time ticking away. "What do you want?"

"I wished for you" The kid was traumatized, in a catatonic state, not able to look anywhere else but the body he used to call "mother".

"You what?" Leo spat angrily. He thought Piper would have taught the kid about the consequences of wishing. He waited for his son's reply, but he wouldn't move. He couldn't move. He could only stare blankly at front. Leo turned.

The vision he encountered broke him, he lost balance and almost fell over his son. Clutching himself to a standing position, he walked the three steps that separated him from his soul mate. He crouched next to her, caressing softly the dark hair, soaked in blood, murmuring her name as his heart broke in a thousand pieces. The body was bent in an awkward way, the only she could stand the pain before she died, blood anywhere on her face, having poured out of her eyes, her mouth, her ears, her hands locked in a rictus of pain and love to her son. It was horrible to watch, and yet her smile was there, a moment of peace, a gesture of love, the one he always loved.

Anger boiled within his head, looking for the responsible. His eyes found Chris.

"What did you do? What the hell did you do?" He grabbed his son, shaking him, trying to force out a response from him. It was useless: his son was blocked, so shocked his mind had shut him away. The anger increased, the manhandling worsened, he was about to hit him, smack him, when his hands felt hot, as if he was burning.

He heard the voice behind him. A voice he knew so well.

"Leave him. All he did was to wish for you."

Wyatt's voice was cold, and cruel. Leo turned slowly to face him, found his son in dark attire, eyeing him as if he were something repulsive.

"All he did was to hope. Hope to see you in his birthday, hope for you to give him a couple of minutes, hope for you to be his father. Hope for you to be with him like you are with me"

"He… he does not deserve it: he's not you. He's not important…"

"He's not important" the voice of his son was cold and yet mocking him. "He's not important? Why? Because he wasn't born under the Northern Lights? Because he wasn't born the day the magic died?" His voice had trailed away, substituted by the projection of Wyatt's memories, his mother asking the same questions to his father again. Leo could see himself arguing with Piper about the importance of training Wyatt to become the bearer of Excalibur, the Ultimate Power, 

and all the other reasons he couldn't spend time with Chris. The argument progressed, both getting angrier and angrier with each word said, both unaware that their children, four and six, were watching from the solarium. Leo just gazed in horror. "You said he was not important because I hold great power. Well _dad_, I _am_ power. And wanna know what am I gonna use it for? To make this place better for both me and Chris."

"What…?"

"Oh, yeah. You thought I was happy with things the way they were? Was I happy of being stuck with you, and not with my brother? Was I happy for all the extra attention you gave to me, while you made your other son, _my _brother, feel like a piece of shit? No dad, I wasn't happy. I _am not _happy. No, dad. I'm tired. Tired of you not caring about Chris, of me being afraid of you Elders who would look at me like I am some sort of big menace, tired of mom and the aunts telling me not to use magic. I'm tired. And I am doing something about it."

"Wyatt…" Leo Wyatt's voice was filled with fear. But he lost his voice the moment his son raised his hand, a crossbow forming within a black mist, an arrow from it fired at great speed, puncturing his throat, the venom pulsing through his veins taking the life away from him. Life, death, he no longer knew. The spot Wyatt had chosen to aim was a quick one, almost as quick as if he had shot to the heart. But more painful. Soon enough his body fell lifeless, close to the woman he loved.

Wyatt made the crossbow vanish, changing his cold expression to a warm one and talking to his brother.

"Chris. Hey, Chris, wake up! C'mon bro… Chris?" He was now uncertain, watching the shocked yet blank expression of his brother. "Chris… don't you see? Don't you see what this means? It means we are free. We are free of them, mom's nuisance about not using magic and dad always getting between us. We can do whatever we want, whenever we want. Our aunts won't stop us. Chris!" The young's expression wouldn't change, so traumatized by the events. Wyatt started to get angry, his patience diminished now he was so sure he owned the world. So he decided to enter his brother's mind.

In that moment, something within Chris unleashed, as if all of his powers combined to protect him from his brother's intrusion. Wyatt was launched full-force to the wall behind him, creating a hole with his body, debris falling on Leo's body, but miraculously not falling over Piper's. The blast had _actually_ hurt Wyatt, something usually impossible because of his many abilities. When he got up was not only hurt, but angry. And surprised of his brother's capabilities. He tried to get close, to hold him, but he realized he couldn't move any closer. A fine blue line of energy was projected in the floor, proof of his brother's magic.

"I'm sorry, Chris." His voice was… sad. "I'm sorry it had to be this way. You… you are not ready. But you will be" He was now smiling, confident. "And when you are, I'll come back for you. Farewell, bro." With that, he started to orb. But the neon-light particles were not blue. They were black and 

purple, and instead of going upwards, scattered downwards to the floor. Chris stayed there, catatonic. His magic, however, stopped. The blue line was no longer in the floor.

"Piper, you won't believe this" Phoebe's voice trailed as she opened the front door, distracted. "We actually forgot our keys!" The moment she entered she felt the emphatic hit of the emotions her little nephew hold. A swirl of despair, anger, sadness and panic drowned her as one single thought formed inside her head. She gasped, panicked, screamed as she saw the two bodies on the floor.

_Piper Halliwell is dead._


End file.
